LVH named to 'Best Hospitals' list for 18th straight year by U.S. News & World Report

St. Luke's, Hunterdon and Reading make list as 'high-performing'

U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of best hospitals, and several from the Lehigh Valley made the list, but one was nationally ranked.

Lehigh Valley Hospital made the list as one of the nation's best hospitals for the 18th consecutive year.

The 2013-2014 list, released Tuesday, names LVH among the country's top three percent of leading hospitals in seven categories: cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, orthopedics , pulmonology and urology.

In addition to the Best Hospitals national rankings, U.S. News cites only about 15 percent of hospitals as “high-performing” in regional markets around the country.

LVH-Muhlenberg's campus at 2545 Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem, was ranked as "high-performing" in six categories: gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics , pulmonology and urology.

St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network, at 801 Ostrum St., Fountain Hill, was ranked "high-performing" in six categories: diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and pulmonology.

In Berks County, Reading Hospital and Medical Center, located at Sixth Avenue and Spruce Street in West Reading, received "high-performance" ranking in one category: orthopedics and urology.

In New Jersey, Hunterdon Medical Center, at 2100 Wescott Drive in Flemington, was ranked as "high-performing" in four categories: gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, and pulmonology.